Squamish is a unique place, where visitors come to escape to nature, where residents open their blinds in the morning and can’t believe they get to live in a place surrounded by enchanting mountains and touched by the sea. It’s such stunning scenery that movie crews from all over North America use our town as their backdrop.
Local tourism experts tell us that when Vancouver people need an escape from big-city life, they come to Squamish to lose themselves in nature, to replenish their spirit before returning to urban mayhem.
It’s baffling, then, that we have a plan to alter that nature, based on the vision of an artist who does not live here. Through the Vancouver Biennale initiative, which aims to bring the work of international artists to public spaces, artist Konstantin Dimopoulos plans to turn 50 to 100 trees in Squamish blue.
Yes, you read that correctly. He will turn the trees blue.
He plans to use blue pigment to temporarily alter the colour of many of the trees in town, from Cleveland Avenue to Garibaldi Highlands.
While no doubt the trees will look visually interesting with blue trunks and blue branches, we know one thing: They won’t look natural.
The blue trees idea is not new, as the artist has put pigment into trees in other public spaces, including a small part of Vancouver. Public art in general is positive, especially when the piece reflects the community in which it resides and the people who live there. The outdoor art that graces so many European cities – think of the statues along the river Seine in Paris – give an aura of elegance and class that residents and tourists enjoy.
But we question whether blue trees reflect the people of Squamish, who are so impassioned about their natural environment that hundreds went out in the pouring rain to join an anti-LNG rally on Sunday. Those who were not there were probably hiking on the popular trails that allow us to immerse ourselves in nature – or wishing they were.
We’re all for blue trees in a setting that makes sense, but Squamish is not the right place for this type of art. We already have immense beauty here, provided to us by nature. No paint required.
– Editor Christine Endicott
